SPARC and neoplasm: To investigate the relationship between epigenetic changes and NB phenotype, we analyzed the level of expression of seven genes with tumor suppressor function that are epigenetically silenced in a variety of adult and pediatric cancers (THBS-1, HIC-1, HIN-1 TIG-1, CASP8, BLU, and SPARC), in a tumorigenic N-type NB cell line (LA1-55n) and a non-tumorigenic S-type cell line (LA1-5s).